“History Will Be Made” is Becoming a Joke

Shortly before the playoffs began, the NHL debuted its new playoff slogan: “History Will be Made.” In addition, they created these nice, heartfelt commercials featuring the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Ray Bourque. Here’s the Ray Bourque ad:

That’s one of the most touching moments in sports, not just hockey.

Another unforgettable moment the NHL used was Bobby Orr:

Then there’s the indelible parodies, such as this lovely short made by the great Bloge Salming, featuring Brett Hull:

All of these featured moments they’re still talking about to this day. What a great idea, eh?

And then, the NHL made their big mistake.

They just couldn’t stop making these “History Will Be Made” commercials. Here’s one about Jaroslav Halak upsetting the Caps in Round 1:

He was great and all, but will that become one of the defining moments in our sport? Well if the Habs win the Stanley Cup it might. But they’re currently deadlocked in a 2-2 semifinal with the Pens and it’s somewhat inevitable that they’re not going to win since the Pens ALWAYS win. It’s not exactly history-making until the Habs get past the Pens. If that happens.

Moving on to Lil’ Joe Pavelski’s ad:

It looks like the Sharks will win this series, but you never know if they’ll choke or not. If they choke, people won’t remember Pavelski’s big postseason run. They’ll remember the Sharks’ big choke.

In addition to those, there’s also a Kris Versteeg one out there. That’s not to mention the fact that you can count on a new commercial after every playoff game. That’s kind of how the NHL is working things these days.

So, NHL, I beg of you this: please stop making all of these ads until you’re sure that the moment will be a defining one on hockey and not just a random story from these playoffs. It’s great to honor these players, but you have to draw the line somewhere.